US STOCKS-Futures rise after Fed keeps rates unchanged

July 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were higher on Thursday after the Federal Reserve decided to keep borrowing costs unchanged and painted an upbeat picture of the economy.

* The Fed said on Wednesday that near-term risks to the outlook of the U.S. economy had diminished, leaving the door open for a possible increase in the coming months.

* Traders have priced in an 18 percent chance of a rate hike in September and a near 40 percent chance in December. Those odds do not go significantly higher even until July next year, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

* Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday, after the Fed was seen to be taking a more hawkish stance.

* Facebook posted second-quarter results on Wednesday that handily beat analysts’ estimates, setting its shares to hit a record high in regular trading. The stock’s 5 percent rise premarket made it the top percentage gainer among S&P 500 components.

* A set of better-than-expected results this week from key companies including Apple and Boeing have improved the prospects for corporate earnings in the latest quarter.

* Earnings of S&P 500 companies are expected to fall 3 percent, compared with the 5 percent decline estimated at the start of the earnings season, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

* Google parent Alphabet and online retailer Amazon.com are expected to report results after the bell. Shares of the two companies were up about 1 percent in thin premarket trading.

* A report on unemployment numbers at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT) is likely to show an increase of 7,000 for the week ended July 22.

* U.S.-listed shares of Royal Dutch Shell dropped 3.4 percent after the company reported a 70 percent plunge in quarterly earnings.